This is in S. Cal. Base MF is 0.00202 which I was supposed to get but I think they sneaked in a slightly higher rate. Otherwise I'm happy with the deal. Salesman was a pretty good guy. But you have to watch out for the finance guy/gal.

This is still a topic covered under leasing. Cap cost is the purchase option of a car as a result of the termination of a lease. It has nothing to do with the purchase of a new car , and therefore belongs in the lease forum, that is why it was established.

I believe you are wrong. You are getting the residual confused with cap cost. Cap cost is the basis upon which you calculate the lease payment. Generally, you want to negotiate the cap cost just as you would negotiate a purchase price. Infact, in most cases, they are one and the same. You negotiate the price and depednding on the residual and money factor on that car, you can decide to purchase or lease. It makes little difference to the dealer unless he is marking up the MF. So when I say my cap cost was 1k over invoice, you should be able to get the same price when you purchase. This info may be of use to someone looking to buy.

I agree with dave328,cap cost = purchase price. When I leased my M45, I negotiated the selling price of the car first, which IS the cap cost. I then had the choice to purchase or lease the car at this negotiated purchase price/cap cost.

No, I don't think so. I know the difference b/w residual and cap cost, and know well enough that they are both strictly leasing terms, not buying terms. You negotiate the cap cost in order to lease a vehicle, never to buy one. You negotiate off the invoice price or MSRP when buying a vehicle, plain and simple.

Why would someone who is looking to buy a vehicle go roundabout and negotitate a cap cost over invoice when he doesn't have to; just work the price over invoice and that's it!

Bottom line is, people who buy are more likely to have a longer-term ownership outlook rather than having the shiny new car every three years perspective. I know there are businesses that lease for accounting measures, but for individuals, I cannot see why peolple want to overextend themselves to lease a vehicle instead of just buying a cheaper one. You build equity in something, that even if it depreciates, its yours. You don't have to get caught in the endless cycle of renting a car and getting no ownership rights. As for the payments, yes they are higher in a purchase, but I would rather own the cheaper can and know its mine and decide to get rid of it, when I'm ready rather than constantly have one eye on someone's calendar and the other on my odometer.

I bet your wife did it! Ask her if she had to parallel park the car sometime within the past three weeks!

kidding aside... yeah.. finding a blemish on the car 3 weeks after is pushing it.

I also found some scratches and a small dent on my rear bumper of my M45, discovered the day after delivery. I picked up the car Saturday night, and really wanting to take the baby home, I didn't even bother checking every single spot (it was dark anyway) and drove it home straight, garaged it. next morning, i noticed the scratches and a small dent (most likely from a plate frame from another car), called the dealer right away, and without hesitation, the sales manager said, "I want you satisfied, we'll take care of it". I took the car in the next day, and they mended the scratches, repainted, buffed. I can still see some really really minor imperfection on the bumper...but since I was treated like a royalty from the dealer, I was happy with the result. Had I discovered the probelm a week later? I think it would have been a different story.

Well anyway, next time, I will take my vehicle delivery during the day, check everything (especially bumper and wheels), and DON'T LET YOUR DEALER detail teh car for you before delivery, if you plan to Zaino your car! or if your car is black. Mine had all these swirls and tiny scratches from the orbital buffer used by the detailer the dealer used. I spent 5 hours Zaino'ing my car last night and I'm sore as hell.

Also..if you have a full size spare, why not just use the spare and put the scratched wheel in the trunk?

Actually, the title of this board is "prices paid and buying experience". You may not agree with the practice, but for many people on this board the "buying experience" IS leasing. On most of the similar boards on this site, lease specifics are encouraged and very relevant. I agree that leasing is like throwing money away, but when is buying a $50,000 car that gets less than 20 mpg a prudent investment?

Purchased at the end of August. There are two dealerships around the Dallas area. Originally went to the closer one for a test drive of the M45 sport two months ago. While I'd much prefer the 45, the 35 more than met my needs. Did all my bargaining via email. Gave them my preferences and waited to hear what they had in inventory. The dealership where I test drove the 45 sport was slow to respond via email. The other dealership was ~20miles away and appeared motivated to sell. So ended up going up north.

Used consumer reports for determining invoice cost for the car and accessories.

I thought that fair market price was 5-6% above invoice considering the reviews that the M series has been getting. CR rated the M35 best luxury sedan, so I knew I had minimal bargaining power.

Drove away with the M35 sport with Nav and Journey sport package in liquid platinum with stone/aluminum interior. Decided against the Tech package since I didn't feel that it was worth the xtra $$$. Paid $1k over invoice.

VERY happy with the M! High's include: touch button ignition, tight handling, quality construction, and of course the Nav. Improvements: trunk space is a bit small and Infiniti may require M school to learn all the features built into the car. Simply amazing! My wife enjoys the voice-activated GPS over her Lexus RX 330. Break in period pending. Zaino'd this past weekend...three letters: W O W !!!

As for the Infiniti dealership--more sales pressure and felt rushed out after the sale was made. Maybe he had another sale pending? Based on my "experience" of buying an Infiniti and a Lexus over the last year, the Lexus dealerships is the clear winner. Would I go back to the dealer where I bought my Infiniti....I'd definitely think twice.

Here's an update to my mini-saga. I got a call today from Infiniti corporate in CA as well as the service manager where I purchased my car. They're replacing my wheel this Saturday morning, and were quite apologetic about the way my salesman had spoken to me. I'm just sorry the lengths I had to go to, but I'll be satisfied in the end.

I picked up my new 35x this weekend. Got a very satisfying deal from a highly classy dealership in NJ, Flemington Infiniti. The price was about 1100 over invoice and I got it in black/bourbon with tech/journey. I added the Diamond Fusion for $350 and bought tire insurance for ~365. I have only driven it home and docked in the garage. I will continue to use my '00 Maxima until I am ready to part with her, a loyal and faithful partner for five years. I know the M will be a dramatic improvement to my Max, but my love for Nissans (had '90 240SX and '79 280Zx first car ever) led me to choose over the soft Lex and Accordesque RL. I know my choice is best and can't wait to roar up and down my block day after day in my new M. Infiniti has separated itself from the other boring brands in the LPS market and is superior to its BMW and Merc competitors. It will take a carmaker like Porsche or Mazrerati to make a car to compete with this new M.

Congratulations on having Infiniti Mgmt make you into a satisfied customer. I guess it always makes more sense to fix a new customer's problem than leave them unhappy at the point-of sale. This is a lesson that should be learned by many of the auto manufacturers!

After hearing of your negative (turned positive) experience, I ordered my new M45 Saturday evening. I took a M45 with Sport, Tech & Journey on a 24-month, no cap cost deal at $778 tax in and $1,603 OTD. They were using an outrageous 73% residual which was hard to pass up. 2 years and I get to look at a new model!

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I finalized my deal on the M35 w/Tech & Journey Pkg yesterday. Went with Black Obsidian with Wheat interior. Nice contrast. Add-ins included splash guards, rear spoiler and trunk mat. 39 month lease, $3800 total down (included 1st mo payment). $555 Per month +tx. Although I had difficulty deciding between the M35 and the Acura RL, by the time I got home I knew I had made a great choice. Had no problem getting the Motorola V330 on the system within minutes. Love the sound system. Only negative was when I went into the finance office to sign the paperwork they "accidentally" added another $599 (first month payment) to the total down/out of pocket we had agreed on. After a quick discussion the manager suddenly remembered that he had agreed upon that. Slimy.....but that's behind me now.

Am conisdering buying an M45 at Infiniti North Houston. Have not discussed price yet. I've looked through the recent comments here and most are about M35s. There was a comment that M35 would have more discount than M45s. Can anyone who has purchased an M45 recently tell us what was paid vs sticker and invoice? Thanks.

I am also looking at the M and test drove one at Infiniti North Houston last weekend. I am looking at the M35 Sport and I have not asked for a price quote from them yet. I got one from another Houston Infiniti dealer (the one I bought my wife's G35 Coupe from in 04). Well I was surprised when they told me they would have to transport an Ivory Pearl with Stone interior in from Baton Rouge. Not sure about having it sent from that region given the recent impact there.

So needless to say I will be looking at another dealer to offer my business to. There are far too many posts on here showing prices closer to invoice including a dealer that was located in Dallas. So if a trip North is necessary then I'll be making my way there to avoid these Houston prices. There are four Infiniti dealers in the Houston area but only three would be close enough to benefit from 2 year free service. Not sure what others in Houston are experiencing with pricing but I would certainly be curious. I am looking to buy in the next few days but the hurricane may cause me to delay those plans.

After reading that someone just got a M45 for $1K over invoice at Winner Inifiniti in Wilmington, DE, I went to my local dealer (in the NYC metro area--which I won't identify out of caution and deference to the dealer) and offered 1K over invoice for an ordered M45, which the dealer immediately accepted. I told the dealer that if they did not match, I would not hesitate to get the car from Winner Infiniti at 1K over invoice given that such a savings is well worth the 1 1/2 hour drive from NYC. Had the local dealer not accepted, I would have indeed called Winner and ordered the car from them. Although I live in NYC, I have sometimes leased cars from dealers in Central Pennsylvania to save big bucks.

Provided the lease terms are acceptable I expect to move forward with the deal.

This indicates to me that you should be able to get the M45 for $1K over invoice.

Appreciate the information regarding your dealings in NYC area for the M45. I am looking at purchasing an M35X and I also live in NYC.

I have not had the same luck as far as negotiating the type of discounting you mention. Without revealing the dealership's name, could you give the county (or some other hint) as to the dealership location. Thanks for the info.